Telecom Commission Letter addressed to Christian Lebel (Canada Revenue Agency)

Ottawa, 4 May 2020

Our reference: 1011-NOC2019-0363

BY EMAIL

Christian Lebel
Liaison Officer
Criminal Investigations Division
Canada Revenue Agency
christian.lebel@cra-arc.gc.ca

RE: Request for Taxpayer Information pursuant to section 241(4)(d)(xvii) of the Income Tax Act – MySignal.ca and Mr. Wil McQuaid

Dear Mr. Lebel,

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the Commission) staff recognize the essential work that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is doing to support Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, I appreciate and understand that a response to this request for information could be delayed as the CRA prioritizes more pressing matters in its service to Canadians.

I am writing you pursuant to section 241(4)(d)(xvii) of the Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp), which permits an official of the CRA to provide, to an official of the Commission, taxpayer information in certain circumstances. In accordance with this provision, it is requested that the CRA provide the undersigned, an official within the meaning of this provision, with the taxpayer information set out below.

I note that after multiple corporate searches, Commission staff have been unable to locate any federal and provincial business reports on the company. We suspect the company is, in fact, a numbered company operating under the tradename “MySignal.ca”, “MySignal.ca Solutions Inc.”, or “MySignal.ca Communications Corporation”. Our investigation leads us to believe that the business address of the company and/or the address of Mr. McQuaid could be any of the following:

The Terms of service available on the company’s website (MySignal.ca), notes that the business operates under the laws and jurisdiction of British Columbia.

This request is being made in light of the following:

Given the lack of response from the parties themselves, Commission staff requests that the CRA disclose the aforementioned tax information of the company and of Mr. McQuaid pursuant to section 241(4)(d)(xvii) of the Income Tax Act.

Disclosure of the requested tax information will be used solely for the purpose of the administration and enforcement of a regulatory function of the Commission—in particular, it will be used to ensure that the Commission is properly able to assess the ability of these persons to pay the administrative monetary penalties proposed in NOC 2019-363.

I would also note that in filing any information with the Commission, the CRA may designate any of the information filed as confidential, in accordance with section 39 of the Telecommunications Act.

If you or your staff have any questions regarding this request, please do not hesitate to contact the manager responsible for the file, Antica Corner, or Commission legal counsel, Salahuddin Rafiquddin. The relevant contact information is set out below.

I thank you in advance for your assistance in this regard.

Sincerely,

Nanao Kachi
Director, Social & Consumer Policy
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
1 promenade du Portage
Gatineau, QC  J8X 4B1

cc: Antica Corner, Manager, CRTC, 819-997-1334, antica.corner@crtc.gc.ca

Salahuddin Rafiquddin, Legal Counsel, CRTC, 873-353-4706, salahuddin.rafiquddin@crtc.gc.ca

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